Safe House
by Bodge
Summary: A oneshot set sometime in the future, Rachel's a star, she's playing the lead role in a Broadway production and her life is going great. Until one day it isn't and Rachel finds herself needing a safe place to lie low for a while. She's surprised to find out who's going to give her the refuge she needs.


Another oneshot that I've been working on for a little while. There was no prompt for this one, just a niggling little idea that wouldn't leave me alone util I wrote it. I'm not entirely sure I like the ending, but I've been poking at it for a couple of weeks now and it doesn't seem to be getting any better so I decided to leave it as it is before I make it worse!

As a heads up, there's mention of a stalker in this fic, so if you think that might be upsetting or triggering for you please read with caution or just give this one a miss.

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"Shelby Corcoran" she frowned as she answered the call to a number she didn't recognise, holding her phone between her shoulder and her ear as she poured milk onto Beth's cereal before moving to put the bowl in front of the toddler sat at the table.

"Shelby, its Leroy."

"Leroy" Shelby was even more confused, she hadn't spoken to Rachel's fathers in years, they'd briefly seen each other at the opening night of her first Broadway show but they'd simply nodded politely at each other across the foyer and gone their own ways, Rachel, without being asked, arranging for their seats to be at opposite sides of the theatre. "Is everything okay?" she asked, walking to the far side of her kitchen to have the conversation out of earshot of her youngest daughter.

"Not really" he sighed, "Rachel gave me your number, I know it's a big thing to ask but she needs a place to stay and I wondered if you could help her out, I can't say how long for though."

"I... of course she can stay here for as long as she wants" Shelby didn't even need to think about it, "but I don't understand, why can't she stay with you?"

"Rachel has a stalker" Shelby felt her heart sink, "it started with notes and gifts, and then phonecalls and…" she heard him try to swallow the lump in his throat, "there were some death threats. We had the police involved from the start but last night…" Leroy's voice shook. "Last night someone tried to grab her as she left the theatre."

"Someone…" Shelby swallowed hard and clutched at the counter, trying to stop herself vomiting at Leroy's revelation.

"She was lucky, the security on stage door saw everything, they were on the ball, the police were there in minutes but whoever it was drove off as soon as they saw the security men. The police took a statement and then took her to her apartment but someone had been in there and trashed the place. Luckily the police walked her right to her door, which was open, so they knew something wasn't right. The police took her to a safe place last night but she needs somewhere more permanent, we don't want her coming back here in case they know where we live. She needs to be somewhere safe, but also with someone that nobody will associate with her."

Shelby felt sick, she hadn't heard from Rachel in a while but she'd assumed that she was just busy with her show, she never imagined that her daughter had been dealing with so much. "Of course, of course she can come here. I can…" Shelby thought for a minute, "I might be able to make a few phone calls, pull a few strings and get her away from the city. Let me see what I can do." She heard Leroy go to speak but quickly told him, "I'll be discreet, I won't mention Rachel's name."

Leroy nodded, "thank you, I'll call the police and let them know. I'll give them your number and they can phone you to get some details and sort out whatever it is they need to sort out."

"That's fine" Shelby agreed, "I'll get things ready for Rachel and see if I can make those arrangements."

"Thank you" Leroy nodded, "I really appreciate this Shelby, and I'm sure Rachel will too."

"It's fine" Shelby reassured him, "honestly."

Leroy called the police when he'd finished to give them Shelby's details, before calling his own mobile from the call box to hide the number he'd dialed, just in case he was being watched. He wanted to cry, his baby was hurting, she was in danger, but he knew he wasn't able to protect her, there'd been too many photos in the media, too many events where Rachel had attended with a father on each arm, Lima would be the first place any stalker woud look for her. Leroy knew that this time he had to stop back, he had to trust that the best way to protect his daughter was to stay well away, and at least this way he'd know she was safe, he'd know she was with someone who loved Rachel just as much as he and Hiram did, and that was where he managed to find the smallest amount of comfort.

Rachel was slightly relieved to be told that a safe place had been found for her to stay for a while. She'd spent the night at the police station, and, whilst the officers had done everything they could to try and make her comfortable, she hadn't been. She only hoped that, wherever she was going, she'd be able to shower and sleep. She was still in her stage makeup from the night before and she felt gross. She needed to have a wash and try and decompress a little, her mind going a mile a minute as she tried to process everything that had happened in the last 24 hours, her entire body buzzing with an anxiety she wasn't sure would ever go away.

It was early afternoon when she was finally ushered out into an unmarked police car, blacked out windows in the back giving her privacy as she was driven through New York, not really paying any attention to where they were going.

It wasn't until she realised they were heading towards the Lincoln tunnel that she began to get curious. They drove for another 30 minutes once they entered New Jersey, Rachel frowning as they pulled up outside a nondescript two story house, a wraparound balcony to the front. It was a pretty house Rachel mused, but not knowing why she'd been brought to this particular house worried her a little.

Two officers from one of the other cars that had accompanied them walked up to the door, but Rachel didn't see anything as they were let inside, "they'll give the place a once over, make sure it's safe" the officer that had driven her said.

Rachel nodded, too tired to ask questions, speaking only to thank the officer when, just fifteen minutes later she was let out of the car, a police officer either side of her as she walked up the driveway.

It was one of the two police officers that had entered the house first that opened the door to her, and Rachel wanted to sob when, after taking less than two steps into the house, she came face to face with Shelby, "oh Rachel" she held out her arms, Rachel falling into her open arms as everything took its toll on her and she began to sob, letting out everything, her fear, her worry, her relief that she wasn't going to be left alone.

Shelby all but carried Rachel over to her couch, sitting down with her and holding her tightly, humming and rocking gently to settle her. "Thank you." Rachel whispered once she'd calmed a little.

"It's okay" Shelby wiped at Rachel's tears "do you want some tea or anything?"

Rachel shook her head, "I'd really like a shower though if that would be okay?" she looked from Shelby to the police officers standing by the door.

"Of course" the officers nodded.

"I'll show you where everything is" Shelby told Rachel before turning to the police officers, "there's something I'd like to speak to you about" she told them, "could you wait a minute?" the police officers nodded and Shelby gestured to her couch, telling them to make themselves comfortable before leading Rachel up the stairs.

"Thank you for doing this" Rachel whispered as Shelby took her daughter into her own bedroom.

"Rachel, you don't need to thank me, I'd have done it in a heartbeat. Now, the third bedroom is set up as an office so you can either share with me or I can bring Beth in here and you can have her room, but she's napping at the moment so…" Shelby gestured around the room, "make yourself at home."

"Thank you."

"Rachel" Shelby put her hand on her daughter's cheek, "stop thanking me." She gestured to one of the two doors on the far wall, "that's the ensuite, the towels in there are clean, I've put a new toothbrush out for you and you can help yourself to anything else you need" she gestured to the second door, "that's my closet, find yourself something to wear, whatever you want, there's some new underwear and a sports bra there" she gestured to the items on top of the chest of drawers, "neither have been worn, they'll probably be a little big but they're better than nothing and I'll pop out later and get you some essentials." She held her hand up, stopping Rachel from thanking her again, "go get your shower, I'll be downstairs when you're ready to come down."

Shelby watched as Rachel trudged wearily into the ensuite before leaving her room, pulling the door closed behind herself and walking back down the stairs. She offered the police officers tea and thanked them for taking care of Rachel before telling them she had a plan. She'd worked with enough Broadway stars to know people, to be able to pull in favours, so that's what she'd done. She'd found someone with an empty holiday home in the Florida Keys and she'd found two security guards, currently out of work, who were more than willing to accompany them both on the journey, she just needed to know if she'd be able to get Rachel through the airport and onto a plane without much trouble or if it would be better to drive.

The police officers were surprised at how quickly Shelby had worked and agreed that getting Rachel out of the area was a great idea. Shelby gave them the details of the holiday home and the men who'd be accompanying them, the police officer telling her that they'd see what they could do with regards to the airport situation and be in touch over the next day or two.

Shelby spoke to the officers for a little longer before seeing them from her home, being sure to lock the door behind them. She turned, back resting against the wood as she took a shaky breath. Hearing what some bastard had been doing to her daughter had hit her hard but she knew she had to keep herself together. She had to be strong for Rachel's sake.

It took a moment but Shelby soon realised it had been a while since she'd heard the water shut off in her ensuite so she decided to check on Rachel, knocking gently on the door before slowly pushing it open when she got no response, "Oh Rachel" she sighed when she saw her, curled in a ball at the foot of the bed wearing nothing but a towel. "It'll be okay" she whispered as she took a blanket from the closet and covered Rachel with it, "nobody will hurt you while I'm here."

Rachel frowned slightly as she woke in an unfamiliar bed, slightly confused until it hit her, the events of the past 24 hours hitting her like a truck, then she remembered Shelby, remembered how safe she felt in the woman's arms and wondered if that had been a dream, there was no way Shelby would have taken her into her home. Would she? Rachel pushed herself to sit up, there was only one way to find out.

Shelby was sat on the couch when Rachel came downstairs, dressed simply in sweats and a tshirt that she'd found in Shelby's closet, Beth tucked into Shelby's side as they read a book together. "Hey" Shelby turned towards her when she heard the creak of the bottom step, "did you sleep okay?"

Rachel nodded, "yes thank you."

Shelby smiled, "you can sit down you know, make yourself at home." She kissed Beth's hair, "are you going to say hello to Rachel? You remember I said she was going to stay with us for a little while?"

Beth's face popped up over the back of the couch, "hi" she beamed.

Rachel couldn't help but return the smile as she sat on the armchair, "hey."

"Is there anything you need?" Shelby asked Rachel, "a drink or something to eat?"

Rachel shook her head, curling her knees up to her chest, "I'm okay."

"Rachel" Shelby frowned, "when did you last eat?"

Rachel shrugged, "before the show last night?"

"Let me get you some food" Shelby frowned, "I can't begin to imagine how you're feeling right now but you need to eat something Rachel, I promised your Dad that I'd look after you, I don't want you making yourself ill."

"You spoke to my Dad?" Rachel frowned.

Shelby nodded, "Leroy" she confirmed, not sure if he was Rachel's Dad or her Daddy, "he rang me this morning, he was the one who asked me if you could stay here."

"And you said yes?"

"Of course I did Rachel, I said yes as soon as he asked me, I didn't even know what had happened, he asked if you could stay with me and I said yes straight away."

"I…"that surprised Rachel, she hadn't even thought about why she'd been brought to Shelby's home but the knowledge that her Dad had asked Shelby to take her in, that Shelby had done it without question was almost too much for her to process.

"Momma" Beth spoke up, breaking the silence, "Rachie want cake?"

Shelby chuckled, "I think she might need to eat something proper before she has cake"

"Oh" Beth pouted.

"Do you want cake?" Shelby asked the toddler.

Beth's face lit up and she nodded excitedly before jumping from the couch and taking Rachel's hand, "c'mon Rachie, we have cake!" she grinned, not giving Rachel any choice but to follow her into the kitchen.

"What do you want to eat?" Shelby asked Rachel as she followed her daughter's into the kitchen.

"I erm, I don't know" Rachel shrugged as Beth scrambled up to sit at the table.

"Are you still vegan?" Rachel seemed surprised that Shelby remembered as she nodded slowly, "okay, I'll see what I can do."

She turned to the refrigerator, taking out a bunch of veggies and beginning to chop them all, "is there anything I can do?" Rachel asked.

Shelby shook her head, "no, you just relax, I've got this."

Rachel watched as Shelby threw the chopped veggies into a baking tray, tossing them in olive oil before putting them into the oven, "Momma" Beth spoke up.

"I'm sorting your snack now Bee" Shelby told the toddler, placing a plastic plate in front of her just a few minutes later.

"Momma" she frowned at the sight of the carrot sticks and small bowl of hummus that she'd been given.

"Eat that and then you can have cake" Shelby said as she ate a carrot stick herself.

Beth looked from Shelby to Rachel, smiling cheekily as she came up with a plan, "want one?" she asked, holding a carrot stick out towards Rachel.

Shelby raised an eyebrow as she watched, she knew exactly what Beth was doing, wanting Rachel to help her eat her snack so she could get her cake faster.

Rachel smiled but shook her head," you eat it" she told the toddler, "Mommy's making me something."

"Wha' Rachie have Momma?" Beth asked as she enthusiastically dipped her carrot into the hummus.

"Rachel and I are having pasta and veggies" Shelby rolled her eyes at the exaggerated 'yuck' noise from her youngest daughter, "you know carrots are vegetables right Bee?" she teased as she moved to sit at the small table in the corner of the room with Rachel and Beth.

Beth frowned, "really?" she looked to Rachel for confirmation.

Rachel nodded, "yeah, they are."

"But you're having cake once you've eaten them" Shelby told her, wanting to intervene before Beth threw a tantrum.

"No veg'bles in my cake though?" Beth looked suspiciously at Shelby.

Shelby chuckled and shook her head, "no vegetables in your cake, just chocolate."

"Not a blueberry muffin then?" Rachel teased, Shelby smiling at the fact her oldest daughter seemed to be relaxing a little.

Shelby hummed as she stood to stir the pasta, "now there's a thought" she chuckled.

Beth quickly finished her carrot sticks and a small chocolate chip muffin before, with Shelby's blessing, racing off into the living room to watch cartoons and play with her toys.

"Are you okay?" Shelby asked, standing behind Rachel and squeezing her shoulder, gently beginning to massage them when she felt just how tense Rachel was.

"I just…" Rachel sighed, "I was dealing with everything, the police knew, the theatre knew, the concierge at my apartment knew, they even knew not to accept any packages unless I'd told them I was expecting anything. I had two security guards by my side, specifically for me, at stage door signings, everything was under control, I was dealing with it. But then…" Rachel shrugged, unusually lost for words, "the past 24 hours has been a lot, I don't… I feel like I'm living in some bizarre Hollywood movie." Rachel and Shelby had bonded in the years since Rachel had been in New York, maybe not to the level of a typical mother and daughter, but they were friends, confidants maybe, but Rachel was still surprised, both by how welcoming her Mom had been, and by how comfortable she felt in Shelby's home.

"I don't think there's anything I can say or do to make this any easier for you I'm afraid" Shelby moved back over to the stove as the timer sounded, "but I want you to know that I'd do anything I could to make you safe. I've got a plan to get us out of the city for a while" she told Rachel, "you me and Beth, it's what I wanted to speak to the police about earlier, I'm just waiting to hear if we can get you onto a flight without too much trouble or if I'll need to drive, but we'll work something out."

"You, you'd come with me?"

"Of course" Shelby put two bowls of pasta on the table and sat down beside Rachel, "you're my daughter Rachel, and now I know what's going on, I won't be able to rest unless I know you're safe, I'm not going to send you away on your own."

"Thank you" Rachel picked at the pasta for a moment before suddenly realising just how hungry she was, she'd been far too anxious to eat anything at the police station.

"You don't need to thank me Rachel" Shelby squeezed her arm before beginning to eat too, "you and Beth are the most important things in my life, I know I made more mistakes than I can count when you were younger, but I promise you, I promise you when you're with me, I will do anything and everything in my power to protect you, both of you."


End file.
